Ask the Expert Question-and-Answer Archive

by Ron Joseph

November, 2000

Color Matching for Paints

Q. I would like to know more about colour matching and the measurement of gloss levels for polyurethane topcoats. This is to get a basic understanding of delta E values.

A. There are manuals in which color measurement is described, and one is the Metal Finishing Organic Guidebook & Directory (p. 565-570) published by Elsevier. A contact there is f.freyer@elsevier.com.

Alternatively, you might contact the major manufacturers of spectrophotometers who have excellent information on the subject. Also, you might contact the Federation of Societies on Coatings Technologies in Blue Bell, PA. They have published monologues on several topics and it is possible that have something that meets your needs.